Hi. I’m Erik. I recently purchased a 2009 Vibe base model to replace my 2005 Honda Element. I’ve been driving Elements for the past 8 years, absolutely love them for the versatility. Monumental space inside for the size of the vehicle. Mine was taken out by a recent storm, stabbed through the heart (dashboard) by a tree limb, and after a few weeks of searching for a new one, I settled on my Vibe. I’ve had a couple friends in the past who have owned and loved their vibes until high mileage set in, so it was one of the first vehicles that I looked into. I’ve always liked hatchbacks for the compact size vs. versatility. So I know that the Vibe doesn’t have near the cargo capacity as the Element, but I’ll make it work. I’m planning on adding roof racks for my bike, etc. I’ll sure miss just wheeling the thing into the back. I was happy to find a flourishing Vibe/Matrix forum, as I’ve been a long time member of the Element Owners Club, which I have gotten much knowledge from through the years.Alrite, this is going on too long. My car is a red ‘09 base model with 103k miles. It’s in good condition with normal wear and tear. I’m hoping to get many good years out of the thing. I already have many questions that need answers, so here we go......

On the early 09's, biggest thing to watch for is oil burning. There is a TSB or something for the Matrix on it. If it's burning oil, not much you can do to save it other than to keep an eye on it and keep it topped off. My dad's 09 burns a little bit between oil changes, but nothing astronomical. I just had a customer yesterday saying theirs burns about a quarter every 1000 miles.

As for a roof rack, you can pick one up off of an AWD (they came stock with it). However, the roof racks off of the AWD Matrix look better as they are black instead of chrome. If you could find one of those, I think it'd look better.

There are a few other members on here and the Facebook page somewhere in or near Indiana.

And before vibenvy or tpollauf beat me too it, we love to see pictures!

zbyers wrote:As for a roof rack, you can pick one up off of an AWD (they came stock with it). However, the roof racks off of the AWD Matrix look better as they are black instead of chrome. If you could find one of those, I think it'd look better.

I don't know too much about the roof racks for an '09, other than suggesting the options that zbyers suggested above...However, if they're anything like the 1st Gen OEM racks, then you may just be better off going aftermarket if you plan on hauling bikes up there. Your options are limited as to what will fit, because the crossbars are close together and near the back of the roof at the hatch (if anything sticks out towards the back, the hatch will hit it when you open it. From my experience, the only rooftop bike rack options on the factory bars will be fork mounts, mounted in reverse. They also need to be fairly low profile below the crossbar, otherwise they may hit the roof. I think the 2nd Gen racks have a little more clearance above the roof, so it might not be as much of a concern, but I'm not sure.

Anyway, here's my '05 GT and '06 Base with a couple cheap fork mount bike racks from ebay (same racks, moved them from the Base to the GT):